Altadena Community Garden's held their 35th Annual BBQ Saturday, July 11 in the Garden, at 
3330 Lincoln Avenue, The Altadena Community Garden, at the corner of Lincoln Avenue and Palm Street, one block north of Altadena Drive, is located at the site of the old Mount Lowe Military Academy, in operation from 1937-1973. This year, the Academy's biennial reunion coincided with the Garden's annual picnic.
The 108 gardeners who tend 65 individual plots on the three-acre property hosted the annual barbeque. The summertime event is a celebration of food, music, education booths, awards and garden-centric community fellowship.
On hand were over 400 community members for a first-hand peek at one of Southern California's premier community gardens.
Fruits and vegetables were served from the gardens, along with homemade dishes, bbq'd chicken, melt-in-your-mouth ribs, ice cold fresh lemonade, home-baked breads and a wide array of dessert items on groaning tables. The buffet luncheon included demonstrations, raffle prizes, guest speakers, and musicians. 
Education vendors were invited from the Common Ground Master Gardeners Program from the University of California Cooperative Extension of Los Angeles 
County; Mother Magnolia, an eco-friendly landscaping company; and representatives from the Los Angeles County Police, the Los Angeles County Sheriff, California Highway Patrol and the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Certified Master Gardeners taught garden-wise workshops every hour with topics including: transplanting from color packs, 4 inch and gallon containers, composting do's and 
don'ts, and soil preparation and conditioning for robust crops. Information on enrolling in the popular UC Extension Master Gardeners annual training program was made available.
Members of the LA County Sheriff's department were on hand with literature to help avoid hazardous driving, and Supervisor Mike Antonovich was on hand to see the southeastern corner of Loma Alta County Park in full swing.
Two bands played... the Garret Lang jazz quartet, and Tumi Ebow Ansa's Bottom Tree Band. 
Tumi is a Ghanan and Saturday was a great day for him, for Ghanans and for all Americans, with President Obama visiting that historic country. You can reach Tumi at
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. His classic, roots, eclectic music is available on CD and can be heard on KPFK and on Radio Afrodicia.
For information on The Altadena Community Garden, email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .